The Reaping
by AsBoringAsPeopleCome
Summary: The story of a young man and his new beginning
1. Chapter 1

Hey people, the charaters in this story that sound familiar and seem like they belong to the X-men universe do and are not mine. They belong to someone with a lot more money than I. Also, some of the story line and people's ages (maybe powers too, I am not sure) are not going to match the original story. Well, I hope you all enjoy this story. Please tell me how you like it. Later.

Let me start this out by saying this: If you think that your life is pretty awesome, be very careful because it may shatter and it only takes an instant. And the longer that you have been enjoying it, the greater the fallout when it does shatter.

Wow, now that the fire and brimstone has set the mood, where are my manners, Hello, I am Christopher Frank, Topher to the people who matter in my life. My family and I were the picturesque american family. We were about as normal (ugh, I have learned to loathe that word) as families could come.

Sickeningly so.

Both parents were good people. My dad had a job in Boston that seemed well enough, I mean, I never went hungry, that counts for something, right? My mom, well she was the homemaker out of Martha Stewart's dreams. My sister, Fey, was one of those people that made little goth kids cringe, until she spoke, that is. My sister could win anyone over out of sheer niceness and charm. Not to mention she was a little brainiac. Nothing less than a B+ for her but even that would be tragic. Me, I was pretty average. I did the things that all kids do. You know, learn to ride a bike, go swimming, all that jazz. But, when thing look _**too**_normal, chances are there is something below the surface.

My family is no different. We looked too perfect because we were hiding something. A nice, big, fat, juicy secret. Well, we though that it was just my parents' secret but…. Well, I am getting ahead of myself here.

My parents are mutants. Well, were anyhow, but we aren't there yet either. In my youth, I was always told to accept people. I know, shocker coming from mutants. Not that I do not agree but it is a lot harder in practice. My parents survived so well because they were lucky. They did not get any physical deformities or anything like that. My mother was a telepath (try getting away with anything with a telepath for a mother), a precog (even worse, she'd stop us before we even got to do anything wrong) and a telekinetic. My dad was a teleporter with super speed and enhanced reflexes. I never understood the point of super speed _and_ teleporting, but my dad used to say it was convenient.

Naturally, we were to be mutants as well. I used to dream of the day when I would get my powers. What would they be? Would I become deformed? What if I got stuck with sucky ones? These were questions that I was riddled with. But I only really knew about my parents' powers. I didn't see any of the other ones very often at all.

Unless I was sick. Then the fun began. Makes perfect sense, right? Let me elaborate a smidge there. When we got sick we did not go to a kind old man with gently wrinkles and glasses who lived down by the town square. No, we got a little different kind of doctor.

The big furry blue kind that is.

That is precisely why I loved getting sick. Why I became such a profoundly convincing actor of illnesses. Because that meant that we got to go see grandpa X and all of his students. He wasn't _**technically**_our grand father but more of the "We'll just call him grandpa anyway" kind of guy.

"But mooommmm, I really am sick," I cried with just a hint of agony.

"Toph, you are going to be 15 tomorrow. It's time to start acting like it."

I am going to mark that as a ploy on her part to get me to get me to shut up. You do not know how hard you have to try to get a telepath to believe that you are sick.

"How about this," I love the sound of compromise, "We can go to Westchester tonight after your father gets out of work. But, you do have to go to school today."

"Alright, but could you call dad and see if he can come home early?"

"I'll see what I can do," she says with a smile, "But you have to leave now or you'll miss the bus."

"Ok, love you. Text me if we can head out early."

I yelled behind me. She was right though. I could hear the bus coming down the road. _Of course she is right;_ I thought to myself, _she "knows" the future. _

I got to school and was trudging through my day. I like seeing my friends and all that, don't get me wrong, but I hate the school atmosphere.

"Bonjour classe, comment allez vous Aujourd'hui," Mrs. String greeted.

Poor Mrs. String, she tries sooo hard but our class just isn't as into French as she is. Needless to say, she was met by mumbles and grumbles.

"Christopher,"  
Crap, this means she wants me to pretend that I am a language guru and converse with her, en francais.

"Oui?"

"J'ai un question, J'ai parle avec votre soeur ce matin et elle m'a dit que demain est ton anniversaire."

Don't feel bad if you can't understand, the speed at which this woman speaks makes it difficult to understand even though I have been studying French for 4 years now. But, anyhow, I was screwed. My sister told her that it was my birthday! CRAP! Now, I don't know if you have studied any languages but language teachers are a certain breed of teacher. Don't get me wrong I love them for it, but they always seem to have a few screws loose.

"Oui…" I said fearing the inevitable.

"Then get out."

Ok, that was not the reaction I was expecting. I had seen her attack many of my classmates singing and dancing on their birthdays

"……uhh, excuse me?" I choked.

"Did I stutter?" she asks with that kind of fake grin that you always want to knock off when you see it.

I looked around the classroom to see what everyone else was thinking about this. WTF?! They all look like they couldn't be less interested in what was happening.

"John?"

WTF again! When even your best friend doesn't reply, even the cleverest of people are a bit perplexed. But then it clicked. Ugh, she just thinks she is sooooo funny when she pulls stuff like this.

"FEY!" I cried in mock rage, "You know grandpa would be mad at you if he knew that you were using your powers like this."

"Topher, I do not appreciate the tone that you are using," Fey laughed.

"Shut up, plus you know Mom and Dad would kill you if they knew what you are doing"

Fey was always doing this crap. Ever since she got her powers she would be on the prowl to mess with me. Especially since I didn't have any. Yes, that's right, I am the child of two mutants and seem to be just a carrier of the gene.

"Well, it isn't like anyone will remember. In fact, I am not even sure that you will," she snickered.

"Christopher?" Mrs. String seemed confused that I was not answering.

"Yo. Toph," John elbowed me to elicit a response.

"Huh? I am sorry what was the question?"

Duh, she was asking if it was your birthday. I hate it when Fey just leaves me hanging. She never tells me when her dumb games are over so I always end up looking like I was zoning out or something.

"Is tomorrow your birthday?"

Ahh, yes, the topic was actually at hand this time.

"Yeah, I'll be 15."

"Well, you know what that means!" She squealed, "Everyone, let's sing together for Christopher's birthday!

Oh god……

--

Thankfully, I didn't have to suffer through the whole day of classes. As I left lunch the lunchroom Nazi guard stopped me. Crap. Well, let's see what she wants.

"Go to the office," she grunts.

"Ok," I responded, "Always a pleasure," I mutter.

Ugh, what could they want from me at the office? I didn't do anything wrong, that anyone would know about anyhow. I go into the office and say hello to the office ladies.

"Hello Topher, happy birthday," Bertha says with a smile.

Before I got to this school I always though "Bertha" to be a name reserved for cantankerous old ladies. Let me just say this, Bertha was hot. Especially to be an office lady in a high school. Rumor has it though, that she is the principal's girl friend.

"Hey Bertha. What's up? The lunchroom Nazi sent me in."

"That is a terrible nickname for Gerti," Bertha admonishes.

Gerti, short for Gertrude. This one, the name stigma fits. She is just a whiny, annoying, fat woman. Not that I fault her for being fat but if you are fat, unfortunately if you want people to like you, you really have to be nice.

"Alright, I am sorry. Ms. Gertrude sent me here."

"That's better. Mr. Shroom wants to see you in his office."

Man, from bad to worse. The office usually means that you are going to get a referral or something but the principal means that the figurative defecation is going to hit the rotating device.

"Why don't you go in and announce that I am coming in. Warm him up a little bit," I say with a wink.

"Nothing has changed since I was in high school. No relationship is secret for long. I would help you out Topher but there are already people in there. More importantly, those people are your parents."

How come this stuff always happens to me? Man, I am a good kid. I haven't even thought about doing anything that would need both the attention of my parents _**and**_ the principal.

"Damn, what did I do?"

"Uh-oh, a little defensive. You hiding something?" she chuckles, "Don't worry, just go in."

--

"You know, normal parents just sign their kids out. They don't go in for a heart to heart with the principal," I said

"Thanks Mommy-dearest for coming to pick me up early from school."

Don't you just love it when your parent's think that they are funny?

"So, what were you two talking about anyhow?"

"Well, when I went in his mind was practically screaming that if he didn't talk to someone he was going to explode. So I let him vent to me. Although I did, uh, convince him that I was trustworthy."

Oh great. My mom and my principal are now friends. Sweet.

"Weird, but ok, I guess."

"Oh thank heavens, I was afraid you weren't going to approve."

Hehehaha, I think I might bust a gut with how funny my mom is. And people wonder where I get it from.

"ANYHOW, why did you pull me out of school?"

"Well, tomorrow is your birthday and Westchester is like 5 hours away," she explained, "I just figured we'd get an early start. Your father got out of work early so we are just going to head on over there."

Yes! We get to go early. I can't wait. Even though I don't have any powers (yet I keep telling myself) I still think that they are really cool. And the people there are all sorts of powerful. There is grandpa, who is kind of like mom, but doesn't have the precog or the telekinesis (not that I have seen anyhow), there is Jean who is like mom without the precog except like uber strong, Jean's husband Scott, who is a bit of a stiff but you can get him out of his shell after a while and he shoots these beams out of his eyes (they have a name for them but I don't quite recall, concussion?) and loads of others.

Well we get home and get packed. I am waiting by "the pad." It really isn't even a pad but we call it that because it is where dad and Fey go to when they teleport so they don't hit anything. Soon we are all there and ready to go

"Hey mom and dad go ahead, I want to give little Topher his present," Fey says

"Ok well remember to only teleport to the pad at grandpa's. And no fooling around, I haven't forgotten about your little trip to Tijuana," dad said with a smirk.

"Oh daddy," Oh lord, "I am over that stage of my life," ugh, one of those smiles you want to smack off.

With that said mom and dad teleported to Xavier's School. I was antsy to go but my sister's gift had my interest piqued.

"Even though you are a pretty crappy little brother, I think that you will really like this," handing me a rectangular package.

I open it like the greedy little monger I am (at least I don't have any doubt about it).

"Wow, a book?" What a jokester my sister is too…

"Not just a book. Grandpa gave me a list of all the different kinds of mutations there are and an explanation for all of them."

Now I was really excited

"Wow, Fey, thanks. This is so cool!"

"And guess what else? I got grandpa to agree to scan you again for powers."

"Oh wow Fey! This is awesome. Let me just run upstairs to put this in my room before we go."

I ran up to my room with speed that one might have thought that I really did have powers. I put the book on my desk and went back down to Fey.

"Ok ready?" she asked.

"Yup let's …"

Flippin telephone. Always interrupting.

"Eh, just let the machine get it," Fey says.

And without a second thought we left the house.

--

Click "Hi you have reached the Frank's, Liam, Sarah, Fey and Topher. We are sorry but we can not come to the phone right now but leave a message and we'll get back to you…" BEEP

"TOPHER?! FEY?!" My dad screamed through the phone," If you guys are there, just stay there. Don't leave until…"

Booms and bangs were heard and then there was only static.

--

When we got to the mansion there was no one around. That is strange to start with because there are always people milling about. The stranger thing was that outside the front doors sounded like a war was going on.

Fey and I ran to the front windows to see what was happening.

"Oh my god!" I yelled

"Oh no! Oh crap!" Fey kept screaming over and over.

It was a war going on outside. There were so many people out there. Scott, Jean, Dr. Hank, Ororo, Remy, Logan, Jubilee, Bobby, Betsy, some people that I didn't know and

"Mom and Dad are out there! What the heck do they think that they are doing?!" I couldn't contain myself.

"Toph, stay here I have to help," Fey said in a tone I almost didn't recognize.

The tone was sharp and commanding with just a hint of fear. I had only heard it from here once and that was when I had broken my arm when I was little.

Before I could do anything she was out the door and helping where she could. It seemed like we were winning. The people attacking seemed to be retreating.

Soon it was only a few people fighting. It was Ororo and some blue chick who kept changing what she looked like, Logan against a big hairy dude, Betsy and Bobby were going against this funny looking guy with a nasty looking tongue that was whipping all over the place and my mom and dad fighting against an goofy looking man with a cape and a helmet.

All of the rest of the "enemy" fighters had initiated their retreat as well. Except the one that my parents were fighting. It looked like it was about to be over and then…

"Come on now Magneto, you don't think that you could actually pull this off did you?" I had never heard my father speak with such disgust and authority before.

"Oh, come now, we were doing very well until you and Vision came along. It shocks me to this day that you two got married and had kids. I think that they will be good additions to my team," Magneto said with a smile.

"You leave our children out of this you sack of slime," Whoa mom's got backbone!

"Ahh, Vision, you had so much potential before you came here and shacked up with Mustang here."

I had never seen my mom use her powers to attack before. Let me tell you, Magneto was all of a sudden being thrashed around. It looked painful. Let me just say I am glad I never had to be on the receiving end of that.

"For your information, we did not "shack up," we are in love," she spat.

"Well then, lovers, you should die together."

With that, he snatched a nearby lamppost and sharpened it, in flight, into two skewers. They flew almost faster than I could see into my parents' backs.

"NOOOO!"

I almost did not recognize my own voice and before I knew it I was out the door to my parents.

I was too late. I watched my parents fall to the ground and gurgle their own blood.

Before I could stop myself I was at Magneto's face.

"You heartless bastard," I spat.

"Haha, child, what do you expect to do? You don't even have powers!" He mocked.

How did he know that? No one who knew that my parents were mutants knew that I didn't, outside of the people living at the mansion. Before I could react, his face had changed from a mocking smile into a grimace as he grabbed me by the throat.

"Your parents died by my hands and so will you!" He yelled into my face.

Gross, he was spitting as he screamed. I know not the time to think about it but my mind was running at a million miles an hour and I picked up on that thought. I vaguely heard screams from people who were coming to my aid.

Little did we all know that I didn't need it.

I wasn't quite sure what was happening but the look on Magneto's face was priceless. He looked ready to crap his pants. He held that face for only a second, and then his grimace returned. I felt his fingers tighten around my throat, then he let go. Strangely though, I did not fall back to the ground.

Something took over inside of me. Cliché I know but I can not describe exactly what was happening. I felt energy coursing through my veins. I noticed everyone else get pushed back by an invisible bubble. Then that shocked look re-appeared on his face.

"No! I checked it out myself! You do not have powers!" He was terror was apparent by the tremor in his voice.

"You are right, I don't have powers. I have no idea what you are talking about. But I do feel that you need to pay. You had no right to kill my parents. They are good people and I loved them. Now not only are you going to feel the pain you caused them, but also the pain you have caused me!"  
His body snapped to attention. Then his arms and legs flew out. He was afraid, so very afraid. _He damn well better be. He killed my parents._

"I will show you every aspect of one word and absolutely none of another. The two words are pain and mercy. Try and figure it out."

First, I split his limbs in two. He screamed. There were other screams but at the moment, it was just me and him.

"That is for stabbing my parents!"

Then one by one I plucked off each half limb like legs of the insect he was.

"Makes you feel like you are missing something doesn't it? Maybe like people who were the biggest part of your life?"

I wouldn't let his mind allow him to go into shock. He needed to experience this and I was not willing to let him off easy.

"And this is to ensure that it never happens again."

His eyes grew wide and then his head was unceremoniously ripped from his body.

I dropped the torso that I had been "holding" and crawled over to my parents. They lay there, hand in hand with looks that seemed to say "_yes we are dead but at least we died for something we believed in." _ I just sobbed and sobbed. I couldn't even make sentences for a while.

"If nothing else, I just hope you guys know that I love you and am so proud to have you guys as my parents," I chocked out.

"We know."

I cried out in shock and jumped back. When I finally focused hard enough, I saw my parents standing in front of me. But not really. They were almost transparent.

"And we want you to know that we love you too and couldn't be prouder of our son," my mom said, "Tell Fey the same. I think that the professor will be able to explain this better."

I did not get the chance to ask as my whole world turned to black.


	2. Chapter 2

Again, the people who aren't mine, aren't mine. That's all for today. Let's get some reviews going!

"Grandpa," Fey screamed, "What is going on with Topher?"

"Fey, I am at a loss. He obviously has powers now but I can not access his mind," Xavier said, "I don't often see a telekinetic barrier like that which also was a telepathic barrier as well. I have only seen one woman do that before with such ease. But…"

He looked over at his dead friends. He had only met them when they we in their mid-20's. They had heard of him before and wanted to ask him if their children would be alright being born from 2 mutants. They were so in love. That was the first time that they had ever heard of Magneto.

--

Charles was quite impressed with the couple seated before him. They both radiated care and love. They also emitted copious amounts of power. He couldn't even penetrate the mental shields that they had put around their mind. Being one of the most powerful telepaths, he was surprised that even when he tried he was only hurting himself.

"Pardon me professor," the striking young lady said, Sam was her name, "But, I do not automatically grant access to my mind, or my husband's."

Wow, now the telepath was shocked. Not only had she withstood his probing but had known that it was occurring. All the while holding a shield for her husband's mind as well. This was unheard of. He was flustered for a moment, but she continued.

"Is there something that you would like to know?" She asked in a completely non-threatening way.

"I am just curious to your intentions and your powers. To tell you the truth, I wasn't even aware that our door bell worked here. Until you pressed it, that is."

"Well," Greg, her husband began, "That was team work. We figured that a place such as this would be well protected, but we could not out ourselves especially now that we have a baby to think about."

"So, I put up psychic barriers around both of us and Greg here," She smiles at her love, "he teleported us to the door."

The two smiled and looked down at her obviously pregnant stomach.

"We figured," Sam looked almost at a loss for a second, "well, we have heard through some of our friends that you have a few mutant doctors that might be able to answer some of our questions about mutant pregnancy."

"Friends?" he asked.

The fact that they knew about this school at all made him a little bit jumpy. That coupled with the fact that they knew about the faculty made him even more uncomfortable.

"I think perhaps we made the good professor a little jittery," Greg laughed. "We know a few people who can answer…"

"And I think that they are coming in now," Sam said rising from her chair.

The professor scanned and scanned but the only person he felt coming in this general direction was Jean. And she was about to walk past. But she stopped dead, right in front of the door.

The shrieks were almost unbearable as the two apparent old friends saw each other. Charles was sure that there were words in there but he couldn't quite decipher what they could possibly have been.

"Oh my god!" Jean started, "Sammy!"

"Jeannie! It has been far too long!" Sam squealed.

All of a sudden the door flew open with a very worried Scott ready to attack. A very faint bubble immediately formed around Jean, Sam and Greg. Scott being married to Jean was instantly on the offense when he saw that his wife was all of a sudden encapsulated in a force field and open fire with one of the strongest blasts that he could muster. Sam was caught off guard and could not hold her place in the room so her psychic bubble was thrown out the window. And by out I mean through.

Sam brought them to the ground outside safely.

"What the hell was that?" Greg shouted. He was ready to fight.

"Greg, calm down," Sam said, obviously trying to keep him from losing his cool, "Remember that me and Jean we screaming and causing all sorts of commotion. Then when he saw me, not knowing who we are, putting a bubble around Jean, he was concerned. Think about what you would have done if _**you**_ were in _**his**_ place"

"I suppose. Wait," he said suddenly enlightened. He turned to Jean, "That is your husband?"

It really wasn't so much a question, but Jean answered anyway, "Yeah, that is Scott."

Everyone turned to look back at the school to survey the damage. A sudden gasp from Greg made the two women turn back to him.

"By Scott, you wouldn't happen to mean Scott Summers, AKA Cyclops?"

"Yeah, one in the same," Jean said with a look of puzzled curiosity.

With that he laughed and shook his head, "I guess this is a day for reunions."

Soon Scott came out the front doors. Scott walked like a scorned puppy, looking down at his feet. Charles was apologizing profusely.

"It is fine, Mr. Xavier. It really is," Sam said, assuring him with a small smile, "We are all alright, no one was hurt."

"Although Scotty boy might get what is coming to him," Greg said with a smile.

Everyone's head shot to Greg, including Scott's. Then the two men lunged at each other. They wrestled each other to the ground. There was a state of shock amongst the spectators. Jean finally pulled Scott back as Sam pulled Greg.

"What are you thinking?" Jean and Sam shouted simultaneously.

Greg and Scott just began laughing, earning themselves a quick one way ticket to the ground from the two wives. They began to get up and dust themselves off and approached each other more civilly. Then they hugged like brothers.

"Man, where've you been? I haven't seen you in ages, Greg," Scott laughed.

"You know, busy getting married and starting a life," Greg joked.

"Ok, someone really needs to fill in all the blanks here," Xavier said with a smirk. He looked like this was all happening way too fast for him.

As it turns out, both the pairs had gone back a ways. Jean and Sam knew each other first. They were neighbors as kids. They both knew each other's secret of being a mutant. They both got their powers as kids and began using them around each other to play games.

"Why didn't I sense you around when we found Jean?" The professor inquired.

"I was heartbroken actually. I used to go spend a month over the summer at my grand mother's house in Florida. I was devastated when I came home and found out that Jean's secret. I missed Jean but promised myself that, for Jean I wouldn't let myself get found and sent to "the institution", as her parents put it. So, I went up to my room and locked myself in there, building a wall around my mind. I figured that they had found Jean through her powers so if I hid mine, then I wouldn't be found."

"Come to think of it, I do believe that Jean did mention you," the professor began, "But when I used cerebro to try and find you I couldn't. Which says something for the amount of power that you controlled at that age."

Greg used to live around here. But as a teenager, he got an after school job. It just happened to be down the street from the school here. But he worked as an attendant at the arcade. Video games seemed to be the thing that had interested Scott at the time and they became friends through that

"Ok, well that doesn't explain why Scott never told me about you," Xavier said to Greg.

"Well basically after me and Scott became such good friends, I told him that if he ever told anyone about my secret that we would no longer be friends and I would be the…"

"Ahhh!!"

The whole mood shifted grim as everyone rushed Sam to help her.

"It is ok, please just give her some room. She is having a vision," Greg explained.

Sam recovered and was covered in a sheet of sweat.

"Oh my god! Get down NOW!" she commanded.

Now anyone who has spent anytime around a pregnant woman knows that if she says now she means three seconds ago. During the time it took us to hit the deck she had already made a barrier. Before anyone could ask what was going on, two jets flew overhead dropping four little black dots from their bellies.

"Bombs!" Scott shouted.

But those bombs just fell to the barrier and exploded and seemed to collapse back upon themselves hundreds of feet over their heads. The commotion brought loads of people outside.

"What is going on?" said a teenaged boy.

"Bobby, it seems as if Sam here just saved all of our lives," Xavier nodded grimly.

As he finished, Sam fell into her husband's arms.

"SAM!" Greg cried as he caught her.

"Greg," Xavier started, "she is alright, she just used a tremendous amount of energy."

Greg seemed to take that at face value as he brought her to the steps and laid her down with her head in his lap.

"Professor, those were Magneto's planes," Scott explained, "And those weren't regular bombs that he just dropped."

"Well then Scott," Xavier said, "What kind were they?"

"Those were experimental government mini-nuke prototypes. Do you remember we got that call from the Department of defense a few weeks ago? They told us that potentially harmless prototypes were stolen by Magneto"

"That is a load of bullshit," Bobby said bluntly, "Nukes would have fried us through the shield and would have level quite a bit around us."

"Yes Bobby," Scott said condescendingly, "But did you happen to notice what happened when they made contact with Sam's field?" Scott inquired, "Yeah, didn't think so. If you were watching, they came in contact and exploded. But then, now this is speculation, but I didn't see anyone else do anything, Sam must have created a bubble too small to let the bombs finish exploding."

The professor hovered over to the steps and rested his hands on his temple.

"What Scott said is correct," Xavier confirmed, "I just spoke with Sam and she is alright and she confirmed what Scott said. She just needs a second to recuperate."

Almost immediately Sam's eyes fluttered and opened. A collective cheer erupted but died as she gasped into another vision.

"Everyone who can fight, the people who dropped the bombs on us are coming," She announced.

"Sam, how many?" Greg asked.

"Only three. They think we are all dead and just came to get the," she looked a little confused, "Xavier Protocols?"

"Ok. I'll be right back. I am just going to drop our visitors off at the greeting center," Greg said as he winked at Sam.

And just like that he was gone.

And about a minute later he was back.

"What did you do?" Xavier asked with maybe just a smidgen of…humor?

"Oh I just let the laundry out to dry," Greg laughed, "You'll see tonight on the news."

Sure enough, that night on the new they reported a picture of Mystique, Toad and Sabertooth hanging upside down by their ankles from the torch of the statue of liberty's torch. All of the X-men looked in an amused awe of what their newest allies had accomplished in the short time they were here. The X-men thought that they at least owed them an explanation for Magneto's lackeys. So they explained Magneto and his philosophies and said their goodbyes. Finally after setting up an appointment with Dr. Hank for the following week, Sam and Greg and left.

--

The professor stood over Topher with his hands over his temples. The room was crowded with people. Worry was etched across their faces. Xavier also had a worry etched on his face but for a completely different reason. Christopher was going to be fine but these powers he now had were the same as his parents' powers. The same strength and degree of control. But they were not Topher's power. They were only hiding his power. Xavier gasped when he finally did find the actual power that belonged to Topher.

"What is it grandpa?" Fey almost shrieked.

"Your brother's power is most unusual. I don't think that I have ever seen this before in my life." Xavier began, "It seems that he has the ability to communicate with the deceased and use their powers if the deceased allows. What has me perplexed though, he doesn't seem to have any source of power for the ones he is receiving. The only time that his body will feel any strain is if he absorbs too many powers at once. He taps the power from the origin host. Since they are dead though, they have access to any amounts of power that they wish."

"Does he have Magneto's powers as well?" Logan asked, almost shyly.

"No." The professor said simply, "Magneto died at his hands and most likely in the afterlife does not want his killer to have his powers."

--

_Whoa! Where am I? Everything is so shiny and sterile looking. Oh god, I hate the smell of hospitals. Is that where I am? Am I in a hospital? What happened?_

All Topher could do was sit up and look around. All of a sudden the night before came rushing at him. He remembered it all. He felt he was going to be sick. He looked around for a toilet and saw one at the far corner of the room.

_Man, I will never make it there in time!_

As that thought tried to finish, he heard a slight "whoosh" and all of a sudden he was in front of the toilet. He didn't have the time to think about how it happened before he was kneeling before her highness and worshipping the porcelain goddess.

"Toph, are you up? Are you ok?" Fey came in with a wave of questions.

"Oh god, Fey, they are dead," I sobbed, "they are gone and I didn't do anything. I must be the worst kids that anyone could ever have had!"

"Christopher Lee Frank," Fey said, close to tears herself, "You avenged our parents' death. You killed their murderer. You not only killed their killer but the killer of hundreds of innocents. You killed Magneto."

"No, I couldn't have, I don't have any powers. I couldn't have killed a mutant like Magneto. He is stronger than everyone I know put together. Why are you so calm about this? You make it seem like all of this was ages ago instead of last night."

"I am not making light of anything here. I miss them still. But the fact of the matter is that you have been out for 6 weeks. I have grieved, though I am not quite finished, I can not live in the shadow of the deaths of our parents. We have to move on. Mom and Dad wouldn't want us to dwell on their death. And to correct you, you do have powers. But you have powers that have never been seen before."

At that, Topher passed out again. Not for long this time. He was awakened soon with a crowd of people surrounding him.

"I am glad to see that you are awake," Xavier said, "We have been waiting for you for a while now."

As I looked around, I saw a lot of familiar faces, as well as some new ones. The new ones looked friendly enough though too.

"Now, I feel like I should explain to you your powers."

_I guess I did get my other gift from Fey anyhow _I thought with just a hint of amusement that seemed a trifle out of place.

"Your gifts are quite unique, Topher," Xavier started his explanation, "You are actually the bridge between the living and the dead."

"Can I bring my parents back then?" I asked eagerly.

Xavier's face softened and I think there were even tears welling up in his eyes. He quickly regained his composure though and continued talking.

"Maybe bridge wasn't quite the right word. You can communicate with the dead and even conjure an astral form of them back to this place. This is going to take a lot of practice though. But, your communication with the people who have passed away also brings with it benefits. You can use the powers of anyone willing, who are already dead, and you will retain those powers even after you have severed the connection with them."

I didn't even completely hear the last bit that he told me. I was using all of my concentration to try and figure how to summon the astral forms of my parents. I suddenly felt a strange stirring in my mind. Then, without warning, my parents appeared before me in the room.

"Mom! Dad!" Me and Fey cried in unison.

The look of shock on everyone else's face in the room was priceless. They seemed to have conflicting emotions. One the one hand they were happy to see their dead friends again, but they also were confused and a bit afraid that I was able to conjure them back with such little effort (Little did they know that it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done before) without any training in it.

Me, Fey and our parents went in for a hug but my parents passed between us and Fey and I ended up bonking our heads on one another.

"Unfortunately your parents, right now, are just astral projections of themselves," Xavier explained, "You can not actually touch them."

"Mom, Dad, I am so sorry that I could not save you. I know you must be ashamed of me," I said

"No, we aren't." Came my mom's voice. "We could not be prouder of you. We just wish that you didn't have blood on your hands because of us."

"So I really did kill Magneto?"

"Hell yeah you did!" My dad exclaimed. "You tore him apart and gave the world a reason not to mess with the Franks."

I had never heard that tone of pride come from my parents directed at me before. I knew that I never would actually have a life that included my parents anymore. It made me sad but at the same time I felt good to know that they were proud of me anyhow.

"I feel our grip on this world slipping. Fey, Toph, We love you. And Fey was right, do not live your lives in the shadow of our deaths. We love you both so much and couldn't be prouder of the people you are turning into."

At that, my parents faded away and exhaustion plagued my body. I think that it will be difficult without them but knowing that they were proud of me and who I am will make living without them tolerable.

"Topher," Xavier startled me back into the land of the living, "I would like for you to have a session in the danger room tomorrow so that we may explore the depths of your powers. For tonight however you may rest in your new room upstairs."

"My own room?" Was I hearing correctly? I knew that with Dad's new powers I could get home alright, but he said upstairs.

"Yes, after you finished off my old friend, your body was acting as a medium between your parents and the living world and they asked if you and Fey could stay here and complete your schooling and train your powers."

"AWESOME!" I was so excited, "Will we get to be a part of the X men?"

Looks of surprise plagued the room. Apparently I was not supposed to know about that little bit of information. But, seriously, how could I not?

"How did you know about that?" Scott demanded.

"Come on, I have been around you guys all of my life. I know what you guys look like and I know your powers. I watch TV too, I know, shocker for a 15 year old to watch TV. I am able to put two and two together."

"Well, now that that is out of the way," Xavier said bluntly, "That remains to be seen. For now, why don't you and your sister run home and get some stuff to put into your room."


End file.
